Studio Musicians Information


	THIS PAGE IS DEDICATED TO MUSICIANs Some nice Information that you may like or need to know! Hi Guyz! Session Musician Definition: A session musician is a musician who records with you but is not officially part of your band. Session musicians are paid a flat rate for their services rather than receiving a royalty, but they do receive credit in your liner notes. Some session musicians work tied to a particular studio and work on recording sessions there, while others work freelance and go from studio to studio as requested by the musicians who are hiring them. Still other session musicians do a combination of the two. Although the studio is really the home of the session musician, some do tour with bands and perform in the live shows as well. Pay for session musicians varies from project to project and country to country. If you're trying to get started in the music business, it can sound like everyone is speaking a different language, with all of their demos, promos, one sheets and whozits and whatzits. Don't know the lingo? Don't sweat it! These basic music industry terms will give you all of the vocab you need to talk like an old hat music biz pro. Below Are some cool articles: 360 Deals Big Four Record Labels BAND MEMBER CONTRACT - Do We Need a Band Contract? 360 Deals Definition: 360 deals are contracts that allow a record label to receive a percentage of the earnings from ALL of a band's activities instead of just record sales. Under 360 deals, also called "multiple rights deals," record labels may get a percentage of things that were previously off limits to them, like: Concert revenue Merchandise sales Endorsement deals Ringtones In exchange for getting a bigger cut from the artists they represent, the labels say they will commit to promoting the artist for a longer period of time and will actively try and develop new opportunities for them. In essence, the label will function as a pseudo-manager and look after the artist's entire career rather than only focusing on selling records. 360 deals are controversial for a lot of reasons. First of all, they're often seen a cynical money grab by labels that are facing dwindling sales and high overhead. The charge is that labels have survived a long time without these kinds of deals, so it would seem that they're suffering from a failure to manage their businesses and react appropriately to the changing industry - asking the bands to foot the bill hardly seems fair. Other people object to the whole "band branding" notion that makes 360 deals so potentially profitable for labels. A great example is The Pussycat Dolls. Sure, the branding has been a huge success - but where exactly does the music fit into the picture? Labels counter that these deals let them sign different kinds of artists because they don't have to be so focused on recouping their investment from album sales. They can stop chasing the instant number one and work with artist in the long haul because they don't need to rely on big sales figures alone to make signing the artist profitable. Controversial or not, 360 deals are becoming increasingly common in major label contracts. Also Known As: Multiple Rights Deals Big Four Record Labels The Big Four record labels are the four major records labels. They are: Sony BMG Sony BMG, who holds a 25% share of the music market, was born out of the merger of two music industry giants, Sony Music and BMG Music. Sony BMG Labels: Under the huge umbrella of Sony BMG, there are more than 20 labels that are owned and distributed by the corporation. Sony BMG labels include some of the biggest names in the business, like: Epic Jive Columbia RCA Arista LaFace Zomba Music Group (including Rough Trade and Pinnacle) SoSo Def Legacy J Records Red Music Distribution Universal Music Group The Universal Label Stable: Sony BMG may be the biggest label in the world, but Universal is the top SELLING label (according to the IFPI. The reason for that is simple. In addition to having branches of the Universal label in nearly every country in the world, Universal owns, or at least partly owns, well over 100 other labels. Some of these subsidiary labels are among the best selling and most recognizable names in music in their own right. Some examples: Interscope Geffen Motown Def Jam Island So So Def Roc-a-fella Verve Keep in mind that these labels each has its own set of subsidiary labels that it brings to the table EMI The Early Years: EMI got its start in 1931 as a manufacturer of gramaphone record players under the name The UK Gramaphone Company. While EMI had much success in the record player market, it is as a record label that the company really exploded. Also in 1931, EMI opened the Abbey Road music studios in London. Abbey Road, of course, has huge significance in the music industry, thanks to The Beatles - the artists who would later put EMI on the map. The studio remains a musician "dream studio" to this day. EMI had early licensing arrangements with: RCA Records Columbia Records EMI severed ties with these companies in the 1950s Hello, America: Until 1957, EMI was primarily a European label. In that year, the company purcashed the controlling stake in US label Capitol Records. The relationship with Capitol Records marked the beginning of a period of major commercial international success for EMI (again, thanks largely in part to The Beatles). During this time, EMI launched several subsidiary labels: HMV Parlophone Columbia Gramaphone Warner Music Group Hollywood Beginnings: Much like fellow Big Four major record label Universal Music Group before them, Warner Music Group got its start as a branch of a movie studio. Warner Bros movie studio started the label in 1958 as a means for releasing soundtracks attached to their motion pictures. The timing for starting a label was great, thanks to increasing popularity of rock'n'roll music and pop music radio, and it didn't take long for the Warner record label to become a going concern in its own right. Name Changes and New Labels: The late 1960s and early 1970s was an important time for Warner Music Group. In 1968, they acquired Atlantic Records label, which at the time was possibly the pre-eminant jazz and R&B labels in the world. Shortly after that, Warner expanded again, this time buying Elektra Records. The company changed its name to Warner Communications, but became better known in the music industry as WEA (Warner Elektra Atlantic). In 1987, big change came again, when Warner merged with the Time corporation, forming the extremely powerful media corporation Time Warner. Time Warner sold Warner Music in 2003 for $2.3 billion. Warner Music Labels: Warner Music Group owns, partially owns or distributes some of the world's best known record labels. Some of the Warner Music Group labels include: Atlantic Records Bad Boy Roadrunner Records East West Records Rhino Records Sub Pop Records Rykodisc Records Reprise Records Warner Chappell Music: The Warner Music Group affiliated publishing company, Warner Chappell Music is arguably one of the most powerful publishing companies in the world, if not THE most powerful. Warner Chappell dates back to 1929 and was also founded by Warner Bros movie studio, who started the company to cut down on the film music licensing costs. The publishing company is home to many Warner and non Warner records artists alike. Big Four labels/major record labels represent the majority of the music sold, making up as much as 75% of the music market or more depending on the year. Artists who are signed to a Big Four record label are either signed to the central label or signed to a subsidiary of the label. For instance, a band may be signed to Sony, or they may be signed to the Sony subsidiary label Columbia Records. These subsidiary labels have their staff and usually sign their own artists and make most of their own financial decisions. However, they are answerable to the "main" company, which sets their overall budget and makes decisions like reducing staff at the subsidiary. In this respect, the hierarchacal structure of a major label can be quite complex and can differ a bit from label to label. In essence, a Big Four label is a corporation that manages several smaller businesses. In addition to the labels that are divisions of the major, these Big Four record companies also sometimes offer distribution to indie labels. Under these deals, the major label offers the indie's releases to stores along with their own releases, but they do not have a say in what albums the indie releases or how the indie manages their label. Also Known As: Major Record Labels BAND MEMBER CONTRACT Do We Need a Band Contract? Question: Do We Need a Band Contract? The following advice is general in nature - your own situation may be different. This advice is not intended to take the place of legal advice - if you need legal advice, consult an attorney. Answer: Bands generally don't like discussing contracts, period, and of all the contracts they like to avoid considering, artist contracts top the list. It can be uncomfortable considering band member contracts, because discussing contracts can feel like acknowledging a certain level of distrust (or at least a certain amount of realization that the band relationship could fall apart). Usually, your band members are also your close friends - in many cases, they're like family to you - and you would like to think that your personal relationship means that no one in the band would take advantage of anyone else. Beyond that, there is the fact that contracts just don't seem very cool. You're in a band for the music, right? The business thing is the last thing on your mind. YOUR band would never fight about money or songwriting credits or anything else. Right? Famous last words. Consider these reasons a band member contract may be exactly what your band needs: Every band that has ever crashed and burned over money issue or songwriting credits swore at some point in their career that these things didn't matter at all to them. The fact is, when your band is earning money, everyone will want their share. If you're not sure what that fair share is (especially when it comes to songwriting royalties), then the fighting will start. A band contract can actually help keep the friendships between band members in tact. When everything is set out in black and white, there can be no fighting down the road over who was supposed to get what or who was supposed to do what. When you're doing business with friends (and a band is very much like doing business), then it is a good idea to make sure your cards are on the table up front. Of course, many bands function without band member contracts. If your band is more like a hobby than a career goal - if you like to play shows and play music together for fun, but don't have any interest in making music your career, than a contract is really not essential. If your band is playing together with the hopes of making music your full time job, then a contract is definitely worth considering. In fact, if you start achieving the success you want, a contact will become very important. Here are a few scenarios in which you should give an artist contract some serious consideration: If your band has one songwriter - or if you think all of your songs are group efforts. Songwriting royalties are a constant area of contention for bands. It is a good idea to make sure everyone is on the same page as to who gets credit for what. One or two band members are paying most of the expenses for the band. Bands costs money, and some band members may be in a better place financially to be able to cover the costs of the band. Get it in writing as to how this person will be paid back when the band starts making money. Your band works with session musicians. Whether you're bringing in extra help on tour or in the studio, a contract can help draw the line between who is actually in the band and who is being hired as a sort of "freelance" musician. You have contracts with other people as a band. If your band has signed contracts with managers, promoters, agents or labels, it makes sense to have at least an informal contract between band members to make sure you can deliver on your contractual obligations. For instance, if you have signed on to do a 20 date tour, having the guitar player bow out of the band the night before you leave puts you in a sticky situation. What happens to jointly owned equipment - and jointly owned debt - if the bank should break-up or if one person wants to leave? So - should you have a contract? Many, many bands do not - but many bands who have broken up and lost opportunities, friends (and money) that they will never get back again wish they had taken the time to write things down. You can function as a band without one, but the best way to protect everyone involved is to get one. More to Come so Stay Tuned! Well This just about says it all! Welcome to the New Music Business...